“Everyone’s doing good,” he said Wednesday. “The good thing is that everyone that had [the coronavirus] didn’t have horrible symptoms, you know, what we’re seeing on TV and in some of the people that have really struggled. Some guys didn’t feel well. But being athletes, they all got through it.
“And they’re all on the other side of it now. … I think it’s important that you see this disease doesn’t spare anyone … actors and actresses, rich, poor, you’ve got to make sure that you stay safe, and I’m really glad that everyone that was involved in our organization and on that plane (during a three-game trip through California from March 7-11) is now doing well.
“But certainly, a scary time. … It hit us, but at the same point, probably saved a lot of us too. … We probably got a little bit of a jump on this.”
The Senators played in the last NHL game before the season was paused March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus, a 3-2 loss at the Los Angeles Kings on March 11.
“Guys were aware that an NBA player tested positive that afternoon, or right around 5:00, but us being out on the West [Coast], we were ahead of it,” said Smith, who is in his first season as an NHL coach. “And there was some question whether we were going to play. … It certainly was a different atmosphere than any other game I’ve been a part of. We just waited for direction from the League.”
The Senators are 25-34-12 and in seventh place in the Atlantic Division, but Smith said he’s optimistic they will finish strong if the season resumes and go into the offseason feeling good about themselves, especially off their play at Canadian Tire Centre, where Ottawa is 18-13-6.
“I’m hopeful that we can get out of the house and get back to work and get joking with the guys,” Smith said. “We want to finish on the right note and finish with the message of how we’re going to work right to the very end, to the very last buzzer, and give the fans what they deserve. I think this season at home, they got to see how hard we played, and we wanted to play right to the end tough. So certainly, I want to get back.
“But we’ll just listen to the guidance from the NHL. We’re going to play hockey at some point, it’s just a matter of when.”
The Senators have not identified the players who tested positive for coronavirus.
Smith said he’s looking forward to watching players like 20-year-old forward Brady Tkachuk, 23-year-old defenseman Thomas Chabot and 23-year-old center Colin White continue to develop when Ottawa begins playing again.
The Senators will have to return with a positive mindset, he said, in order to improve and get back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs; they have not qualified for the postseason since 2016-17, when they lost to the eventual champions, the Pittsburgh Penguins, in overtime of Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final.
“Our mentality has to change,” Smith said. “It’s time for us to take a step, and how big a step that is, we’re going to find out. But we want to take a step, certainly mentally, and that’s with the Tkachuks and Chabots and Whites and these guys, so that when you watch the best teams in the League, the Washington Capitals, the Boston Bruins, when they come to the arena they expect to win every night.
“There’s a difference between expecting and knowing that you can win every night, and in time with as many good young players that we have and all the draft picks we have, we’re going to be one of those teams. Everyone wants it to be sooner than later.”
